Final Paper Proposal

Renee, the New Look of Dior, Place de la Concorde, Paris, 1947.

The photograph was print and made in 1978,  but it is actually photographed in 1947, which was right after the WW II. The place of origin is in Paris, and the photographer was named Avedon, Richard. The designer of the outfit shows in the picture is very obvious, Christian Dior.

Personally, post WW ll is one of my favorite time periods of fashion history, and especially the New look launched by Christian Dior, which played a significant role and brought influence on so many other designers. I thought this photo is very aesthetically fulfilling, with the flared dress and narrow waist design.  without seeing the model’s face, the eye is more focused on the garment itself. in addition, with very little decorations on the entire outfit, the dress itself very much showed a women’s confidence in an unnoticeable way.

I consider my personal style of design is more leaning towards the construction of the garment itself instead of using, for example, colorful prints, beading, heavy decorations. I love to explore fabrics and change their original flow by using various methods such as heat, steam, cut, etc. In this particular photo, I kinda see a focus on the shape of the body and relatively dark color use are elements that hit me right away.

 

“La Cigale”–House of Dior

The designer of this dress is also Christian Dior, and the approximate date is around fall/winter in 1952–53.

The first thing that attracts me is the construction of the dress. It shows in the picture that the dress has a really sharp and distinctive silhouette. The narrow/slender upper body and the three-dimensionally spread-out skirt made a huge contrast and somehow brought comfort to the eye. So again, it is aesthetically fulfilling, and I also think it is narrative.

As mentioned previously, the dress is not heavily decorated and somewhat monotone which are all elements I like about Christian Dior. The proportion is also very well designed.

 

1983 Yohji Yamamoto collection

August 1981 Yohji Yamamoto

Another designer, who is always my favorite, is Yohji Yamamoto. In the 90s, Yohji Yamamoto, a Japanese designer, took a very different approach compared to other designers in Paris in the 80s and 90s, which he redefined fashion. The fashion on display is mainly black, with holes cut randomly in some places, covering the body loosely, the style is very simple, and the color is very monotone.

I have always loved Yohji Yamamoto’s designs, especially during the early years when he dropped the ‘bomb’ in Paris. I found these images meaningful becuase it documented a designer, who was very brave and talented, was willing to express his unprecedented concepts of fashion to the world, even though he was criticized throughout the society in that time. Again, these photos are aesthetically fulfilling, emotional, and narrative.

Yohji Yamamoto is the one designer that triggered my interest in chosing this major as fashion desigenr, therefore, my design concept and ways of seeing fabric is very much insipred and influenced by him. The color use, how the fabric relates to the body is what I am more focused when I design.